DOINews: National Park Service: Grand Canyon's Green Team Wins a 2011 GreenGov Presidential Award

On Wednesday, Nov. 2, the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced that Grand Canyon National Park's Green Team was among the 2011 winners of the GreenGov Presidential Awards for exceptional efforts to promote sustainability in agency operations while pursuing President Obama's Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance.

"President Obama challenged the federal community to lead by example to improve efficiency, cut waste and pollution, and promote clean energy," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "The Grand Canyon Team exemplifies how the National Park Service is meeting the president's challenge, and shows that you can make decisions that protect clean air and water, dramatically improve energy efficiency, and reduce costs – all at the same time."

The Grand Canyon Green Team won the GreenGov Good Neighbor Award for working with neighboring rural communities to responsibly dispose of electronic, universal and hazardous waste in the Grand Canyon National Park region. Partners for this effort included the Grand Canyon Railway, Xanterra South Rim, Williams Clean and Beautiful Committee, the city of Williams, the city of Flagstaff, and Coconino County Supervisor Carl Taylor.

The partnership helped divert more than 56 tons of waste from local community landfills, including 214 large appliances, 34,617 pounds of electronics, and 600 tires. Through their efforts, the Grand Canyon Green Team was able to give residents and businesses in rural communities the opportunity to act responsibly by reducing hazardous and electronic waste, extending cooperative conservation beyond park boundaries. Additionally, their success can be used as a model for other federal facilities that are located away from densely populated areas where conventional recycling efforts are not feasible.